


Bad Timing

by Written_Dreams



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, He seriously just can't take a hint, Mutual Pining, Recreational Drug Use, Slow Burn, Underage Drinking, oblivious JJ
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24844813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Written_Dreams/pseuds/Written_Dreams
Summary: The three boys had all had a thing for Kie at one point or another. They’d all acted on it - and all got rejected too. Kie loved John B- but he was a Pogue- and Pogues don’t mack on other pogues. With Pope it was all too awkward, and they were just too different. And with JJ it was all just down to bad timing.Or: the one where the Pogues all had a thing for Kie, all get rejected and JJ eventually finds the right time.
Relationships: JJ & Kiara (Outer Banks), JJ/Kiara (Outer Banks), Sarah Cameron/John B. Routledge
Comments: 15
Kudos: 123





	1. Four Pogues are so much better than Three

To this day no one was entirely sure how Kiara Carrera- a Kook- had managed to worm her way into the Pogue’s tight circle and into their hearts. She had come in like a hurricane on a surfboard- full speed ahead and with no technique whatsoever- before crashing into JJ, John B and Pope simultaneously and pulling them all under. Really it was lucky that none of them were severely injured- you know, with all of them being so small they were only just able to ride a rollercoaster.

John B immediately made sure they safely made their way back to shore and asked if the girl was alright whilst Pope, like the weirdo he was, immediately started to worry about his bleeding nose. “Guys it’s the first day of our eighth-grade tomorrow! If I’ve broken my nose mom won’t let me go in! This can’t be happening.” He complained. As if missing school was something to complain about. In fact, it was a bonus in JJ’s book.

On the other hand, JJ had just snickered and made fun of the entire situation. Laughed at Pope for his bloody nose (that he joked would be crooked for life). Snickered at John B’s new hairstyle (seaweed was in now apparently). And made fun of the new girl for her, for lack of a better word, shit surfing. The girl had immediately gone into defensive mode. “I’m not a bad surfer. You guys were just idiots just hanging around in the middle of the ocean.”

It was then that JJ and the new girl began to argue. What they were arguing over could have been anyone’s guess, but it ended in the girl storming off after yelling that she would never want to be seen with “smelly idiots” anyway.

So, you could say that their first meeting wasn’t exactly the best by any means. But you’d better believe it wasn’t their last.

It turned out that the girl that had crashed into them just the previous day was new to their school. The new girl, Kiara Carrera, had just relocated from Miami and apparently her parents had just opened a new restaurant on the island. The three boys, (or the Pogue’s as they liked to call themselves) intrigued by her arrival, often watched her trying to gauge a census as to what she was like.

Pope had quickly concluded that she was smart as a whip. He noticed that she knew an endless list of facts about the environment and often went on rants about how it should be a primary concern for humans to actively aim to save the planet and its ecosystem. Always able to back her arguments (or heated debates as apparently, she liked to call them) with statistics and evidence from scientific papers.

John B had noticed that whilst she obviously had a sharp tongue and a short temper, she was also incredibly relaxed. The Pogue’s were notably known for causing mischief throughout the school- and once or twice Kiara had caught John B in the middle of some kind of act that could most definitely have gotten him into major trouble. However, he had never even need to plead to ask her to not say anything. She had immediately told him to carry on and just be careful, she wouldn’t tell anyone. Once she had even served as a lookout in one of their crimes (not that Pope or JJ knew of this at that point.)

However, JJ had come to one singular conclusion that stopped him from noticing the list of pretty amazing qualities that his friends had noticed. Kiara Carrera was rich. Really rich. With her shiny new shoes, and brand-new backpack that looked exactly like the one that Sarah Cameron had, JJ took an immediate disliking to Kiara. “We should avoid her.” He had told his friends vehemently. “She’s obviously one of them. She’ll just cause us trouble.”

John B and Pope had been quick to defend. “She doesn’t seem that bad.” Pope had tried to reason.

“She seems pretty cool actually- not like the others.” John B had intervened.

JJ had just responded with “never trust a Kook.”

After a few weeks the boys had stopped looking out and taking notice of the new girl. No longer was she classified as new, now just classified as just another student. That was until one day mid-semester she walked over to them at lunch time, head held high, and asked boldly if she could sit with them.

The three of them were… shocked to say the least. Kook’s didn’t associate with Pogue’s. Period. It was a rule, practically bound by law. JJ had been the first to pipe up, “Are you joking? Please tell me you’re joking! She’s joking right?” He asked his friends.

“Dude, you’re being rude.” John B responded elbowing him in the side.

“She’s a Kook!” JJ exclaimed. “She can’t sit here- we’re Pogue’s!”

“I prefer not to abide by societal norms.” Kiara butted in narrowing her eyes at JJ.

“Oh, do you now Princess.” He sneered in reply. “Guys she’s a Kook, please don’t tell me you’re considering saying yes!” It was then that an argument broke out between JJ and John B.

“Why do you want to sit with us?” Pope asked out of curiosity. The other boys stopped arguing at that and waited for Kiara’s answer.

Kiara twiddled her fingers nervously and shrugged. “I just have no one else to sit with.”

“What do you mean? This place is practically swimming with Kook’s.” JJ told her blankly not trusting a word coming out of her mouth. “Why sit with us?

“What JJ means to say is” John B intervened, elbowing his friend once more, “that well… kids in this school don’t really mix between well… you know- classes. And what he meant to say is that well…” John B nervously ruffled his hair trying to find the words to say “you’re obviously from Figure 8- and there are loads of kids here from that part of the island so we were just wondering why you’d want to hang out with anyone from the Cut?”

“I- I just don’t want to sit with them okay?” Kiara told them, obviously feeling uncomfortable.

John B opened his mouth, obviously wanting to say something in return before JJ butted in again. “Just tell us why- it’s not hard. Look, you’re rich, they’re rich so just go sit with them and stop bothering us.”

“Dude, that’s so rude!” John B groaned. “You can’t just talk like that to people.”

“Why not huh? You were just pussy-footing around it, like that’s any better!”

“Yeah well-”

“Uhh- guys.” Pope said hesitantly.

“What?” JJ and John B shouted at him simultaneously.

“She’s gone.”

John B instantly felt bad and rolled his eyes as he heard JJ mutter “good riddance” under his breath- causing both Pope and John B to glare at him. “Alright, alright, let’s go after her. Don’t blame me when this blows up in our faces though.” And at that the boys all ran after her.

Once they’d caught up, they all ran in front of her, creating a barrier- stopping her from going any further. JJ actually did start to feel guilty as he noticed that Kiara seemed to have tears in her eyes and was apparently pushing them back as she asked them harshly what they wanted. John B and Pope both gave JJ a silent nod, as if to say go on, get on with it- which JJ did not approve of (not that he said anything).

“I’m sorry alright? I didn’t mean to be mean- or rude. I just… don’t get it. You’re rich. And we’re… well we’re not. Your parents probably wouldn’t even want you being seen with people like us, let alone hanging out with us. So why do you want to?”

Kiara took a deep breath, as if to give herself courage, before responding. “I don’t care where people come from, or whether they have money or not. I never have and I never will. All I care about is who they are. You’re right, my parents probably do want me hanging out with kids from Figure 8. But they’re dull and stuck up and they literally only talk about money. I want to talk about the environment and politics, and I want to have fun- I want to dance, and surf and have a laugh. And when I tried to talk to them, they all thought I was weird, so I’ve given up with them. I thought I’d try being friends with you and maybe I wouldn’t be the weird hippie chick- I’d just be Kiara.”

The three boys weren’t really sure what to say to that- it had all suddenly become very deep, and they weren’t used to deep. But what they did all conclude (obviously through three-way mindreading) was that Kiara was indeed one of them. A Pogue.

John B was the first to make a move as he smiled at her and said “congratulations- you’re officially a Pogue.”

“Umm… yeah. I was meant to ask this before- what the fuck’s a Pogue?” JJ snorted at the crude language.

“We’re the Pogue’s my dear Kiara. JJ began as he swung his arm around Kiara’s shoulders and began walking back towards their original table. “Pogue’s are some kinda fish or something- it's an analogony or some shit.”

“An _analogy_ JJ” Pope interrupted rolling his eyes.

“Either way, that’s what we are. The lowlifes at the bottom of the food chain. The rejects. The forgotten. The undone. The Pogue’s.”

“And that’s what you are too now- if you want to be.” John B added.

Kiara smiled widely at the boys. In the past two minutes these three boys had made her feel more comfortable than anyone on the island. “Yeah- I’d like that.”

“Great- well now that you’re a Pogue you have to understand that we can’t call you Kiara.” John B told her. “That's way too long. And girly. If you want to be a Pogue that can't be your name.”

“Well what do you want me to do about it- change my name?” She asked him sarcastically – causing JJ to snort.

“No- obviously not.” JJ intervened. “Ever heard of a nickname?”

“Oh- right yeah. Like what?”

“Your last name begins with a C right? What about KC?” John B asked. Kiara shook her head immediately at that.

“What about Kie?” Pope asked.

Kiara thought about the nickname and smiled- yeah, she liked that. It fit. “I like it.” John B and JJ shrugged and nodded.

“Kie it is.” They both responded simultaneously.

“Alright- Kie. First rule of being a Pogue- once a Pogue, always a Pogue.” John B told her.

“Second rule.” JJ intervened, “Pogue’s buy each other presents. Lots of presents- especially expensive ones.” Kiara snorted and punched him in the arm.

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

It had been an easy transition for Kie to become a Pogue. Within less than a week she had ditched school with JJ and John B, had successfully helped JJ escape an almost run-in with some cops and had managed to steal a wide variety of snacks right from under her parents noses for them all to have as they set sail on the famous HMS Pogue on the weekend.

She was no longer just a new girl- she was a Pogue. And yeah- a lot of people gave her shit for it, including her parents- but she didn’t care. She loved them, and they loved her- there was nothing more to it.

She had to of known that her life of bliss wouldn’t last forever. On her first day of summer, after almost a year of being a Pogue, her parents had told her that she would not be attending the same school as her friends in the fall. Instead, she would be attending the Kook Academy, like all the other rich kids on the island.

Kiara had been heartbroken, she wanted to spend high school with her friends, she didn’t want to be an outcast. She said this much to her parents, who were having nothing of it. She was going- and it was final.

“I just don’t understand why they hate me.” Kiara told them as she laid on her back on their boat. “I’m good people, aren’t I good people Pope?”

Yes, you’re good people Kie.” Pope replied rolling his eyes. “I don’t understand why you’re complaining- that school’s amazing, I heard they have one of the best science blocks in the country- like almost as good as MITs! You’re probably going to be able to cut open a frog or something- isn’t that cool to you?!”

John B, and Kie both groaned at Pope, whilst JJ simply asked him why he had to be so weird. “Ewww- no, it doesn’t.” Kie replied to him. “Besides, I don’t care how cool the school is- I want to be with you guys!”

“Look Kie.” John B started. “Don’t worry about it, once a Pogue always a Pogue alright?”

“Yeah Kie- besides, if it’s that bad you can always just ditch and hang out with us. What does an education even do anyway?” JJ said whilst munching on a large bag of chips (practically spraying them with it).

So that summer, all was forgotten about Kie joining the Kook Academy. They just continued their normal Pogue lives- fishing, surfing and even tried a blunt or two that JJ “found”. Nothing was changing, and nothing would go wrong. At least- that’s what they thought.

When school began in the fall the boys began to notice that Kie was pulling away- slowly but surely. It was relatively subtle- but they still noticed.

It began when about a month into the semester they learned that she had ditched a day of school with Sarah Cameron (of all people) the previous week. It wasn’t exactly an issue that she’d ditched school, she used to do it often with John B and JJ (and occasionally Pope too)- but over the past few weeks when they’d asked her to ditch with them multiple times and she’d always (politely in all fairness) declined, saying that she needed to keep up with her schoolwork for her parents sake.

From then on, it became more and more obvious to the boys that Kiara was slowly changing from a Pogue into a Kook. She stopped wearing baggy T-shirts and old trainers and began opting for clothes that Pope would say “were in style”. After school instead of hanging out on the boat she would end up ditching them for Sarah to do homework- as if they believed that. The times that they spent together as a group became fewer and further apart.

JJ was the first to lose his patience about two months into the semester when they were hanging out at the Chateau and Kie told them that she couldn’t hang out with them on Saturday night because she was going to a party. “So, you’re ditching us? Again. Well that’s just great Kie- why are you even hanging out with us right now? We’re obviously not on your priority list anymore.” John B looked like he wanted to intervene, but it wasn’t as if JJ had said anything that he wasn’t already thinking.

“Dude what the hell? I’m not ditching you- I’m just hanging out with some other friends, chill out!” Kie scoffed at him annoyed.

“Are you serious? We’ve barely seen you for two months!” JJ yelled.

“What are you talking about! I see you guys all the time! And it’s just one party!”

“No, you don’t and no it’s not Kie!”

“Guys- guys, STOP!” John B yelled at them.

“No, I will not stop!” JJ yelled right back. “You’re being a shitty friend Kie! Do you even want to be a Pogue anymore?”

“What the fuck! Of course I do- you guys are my friends!”

“So choose!”

“What?” Kie asked, her voice wavering.

“You heard me.” JJ replied coldly.

“No.” She told him firmly. “I won’t do it. I choose you both.”

“Not an answer.” JJ snarled. “Us or them. Pogue’s or Kook’s.”

“Do you guys all feel this way?” Kie asked them softly. She felt herself tear up slightly as the other boys nodded slowly. “Do you guys not understand what you’re asking me to do? I go to school with them- you’re not there! If I- You guys have each other but I’ll be an outcast at school, and I’ll have no one.”

“You’ll have us.” Pope told her softly.

“No- I won’t. I’ll have you after school and on weekends but the rest of the time I’ll be alone- I’ll be miserable. Do you really want that for me?” The boys all looked away and said nothing. “Well then. I guess this is it.” She said before she stood up, willing the tears away.

“So that’s your choice then? You’re choosing the Kook’s?” JJ scoffed angrily.

“Don’t put this on me- forcing me to make a choice? That’s low. I would never choose to give you up as my friends, but if you’re making me choose to make myself miserable when you’re not there then maybe you’re not my friends at all.” Kiara replied hotly, as a surge of anger overcame her. She then stormed out of the Chateau and didn’t look back.

Neither the boys nor Kiara felt whole again after that day. They tried to move on, but it felt like losing a limb (and to Kiara multiple limbs). Kiara did find that Sarah’s presence in her life helped greatly- they were becoming closer and closer by the day and it helped ease the pain.

However, things became even worse for Kiara a month later when Sarah decided that she was no longer worth her time and made a spectacle of it by throwing the birthday party of the year and inviting everyone but her. Kiara was angry and lost and most of all hurt. She’d ditched her best friend for this… Bitch. So, like all rational teenagers would- she called the cops out of spite.

Sarah of course then told everyone that it was her (she didn’t even have any proof) causing her to become a social outcast. Just like she’d tried to avoid. She thought about going back to the Pogue’s- begging for their forgiveness. But she was too ashamed. And there was the issue that they would think that she only wanted to be friends with them because no one else did- which wasn’t true. She loved them, and she missed them and if she was being completely honest, she knew she’d made a mistake the second she’d walked out. She still thought that they were being unfair making her choose, but she should have reassured them that she loved them, and she would never ditch them. And then she would have proved it to them by making a greater effort. But she guessed that this feeling was why her dad said that hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Kiara’s guilt built up even further when John B’s dad went missing and she wasn’t around to support him. But she was too much of a coward to do anything about it- they didn’t deserve her as a friend anyway. They deserved someone better- someone that would always be there for them and wouldn’t take them for granted.

Fortunately, the shitstorm that was her life ended about 4 months after her friendship with the Pogue’s had ended. Unfortunately- it had happened at Pope’s expense.

She had been on a run and had just passed the docks when she heard a voice yell in anguish loudly- causing her to quickly go investigate. That’s when she found Kelce and Topper beating Pope to a pulp. Before even she knew what she was doing she ran straight into the commotion and jumped right on top of Kelce’s back and bit him hard on his shoulder. He yelped loudly and quickly went to sooth his wound, throwing Kie right off of him in the process. Topper, distracted by all this quickly stopped what he was doing allowing Pope to successfully free himself from his embrace. “You bitch!” Kelce yelled loudly at her. “You actually bit me?! You animal!”

“Serves you right!” Kie snarled right back. “You. Leave. Him. Alone.”

Topper walked forward trying to intimidate her. “Oh yeah. And what are you going to do to stop me?”

“I-I’ll fight you.” She stuttered slightly but she stood up tall to let him know that she wasn’t intimidated.

Kelce scoffed at her. “You and what army?”

Pope stood bravely next to her. “She has me.”

“And us.” She heard two other voices say firmly. She turned around and saw that JJ and John B had joined them and were standing tall glaring at Kelce and Topper with their arms folded across their chests.

“If my math’s correct 4 is a higher than 1, sound about right Pope?” John B asked him.

“Yeah- sounds right to me.” Pope replied, trying to hide the glee in his voice as he noticed worry start to form on their opponents faces.

“Right- so you bastards had better scram before we pound your faces in.” JJ inputted threateningly, and just like that the boys began to walk away. “Yeah you’d better scram!” He yelled after them.

They all relaxed after that, before taking one look at each other and bursting out laughing. “Did you see Topper’s face? He looked like he was going to pee himself!” JJ said overjoyed, tears of laughter practically falling down his face.

“Yeah, that was great. Kelce though- he looked like he’d seen a monster or something.” John B said.

“I can’t believe you bit him Kie! That was badass!” JJ laughed.

“Wait? You guys saw that? But you didn’t get here until after.” Kie said to them slightly confused.

The boys looked at each other and shrugged. “We saw them with Pope and were going to do something but then you came in and jumped on Kelce and we kind of just wanted to see what would happen before joining.” John B shrugged.

“Yeah- and then you became all scary and shit which was super cool, but when Pope came in acting as if he was going to help scare them off, we figured we’d better step in.” JJ told her.

“Hey!” Pope yelled at JJ. “I could have helped!”

“Dude- Kie was the one helping you in the first place, it wasn’t the other way around.”

“Yeah but-”

As JJ and Pope continued to argue Kie began to remember that they were no longer her friends- no matter how desperately she wanted them to be. “So, umm… It’s been fun guys- I’ll catch you later.” She told them before beginning to walk away.

“Wait – Kie! Kie! Where are you going?” JJ yelled after her. She turned around and saw the boy’s jog to where she was. We’re going to go hang out on the ol’Poguie- come join us.”

“I-really? Are you sure?” She asked them nervously.

John B smiled warmly at her before replying, “Of course we are Kie.”

“Besides.” Pope added in. “I seriously owe you one.”

Kiara felt tears build up in her eyes, “I’ve really missed you guys.”

“Hey- don’t cry alright?” JJ told her- surprisingly gently. “We missed you too. A lot actually, I’m not really sure how we survived without you to be honest.”

“You got me.” John B shrugged.

“I’m soooo sorry. I was such an idiot.” Kie said wiping her eyes.

“We were all idiots Kie.” Pope told her as if it were a matter of fact.

“But you’re here now- and that’s what matters.” John B told her.

“Besides- once a Pogue always a Pogue, right?” JJ said, bringing his arm around her shoulder. “You’re family, don’t ever forget that.”

And just like that their friendship was fixed and everything returned to normal. They didn’t mention it again.


	2. Rejections and hard times

Following their freshman year, the Pogue’s had the best summer they’d ever had in their lives. Not only were they reunited once more, but they all faced an entire summer of freedom and no rules- not to mention the boys had all finally gone through puberty and so now no longer looked stick thin and gangly like they had before. However, whilst they were all pleased to have their (well needed) growth spurts and glow ups, they also noticed that Kie seemed to have one as well.

To put it frankly- she had boobs, and she lost all of the puppy fat that she had held over the space of what seemed to be a day. Suddenly her legs were endless, and her torso was lean. And it caused some serious issues.

Thing’s that she had done normally before, seemed to somehow have been sexualised within the boy’s minds. Anything from her eating to going swimming on a day out on the boat.

“Dude- have you noticed that Kie’s smokin’ hot now?” JJ nudged John B as they both watched her make a perfect dive into the ocean.

“How could I not? How is it possible to get that hot so fast?”

“Guys- you realise she’s a human being.” Pope told them crossing his arms across his chest. “And our friend! You shouldn’t be talking about her like that?”

“Pope man, what Kie doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Besides, it’s not like we’re insulting her or anything. If anything, it’s a compliment- she should be flattered.”

“Have you even met Kie JJ?” Pope asked him incredulously.

“Yesss, and while I know she’s a hardass I feel like she’d appreciate the sentiment.” JJ replied watching Kie from his spot on the boat. At that Pope muttered something about being surprised that JJ even knew what the word sentiment meant.

“What are you guys gossiping about?” Kie yelled from the ocean. “Get in! The water’s great!”

“Just talking about how hot you look right now!” JJ shouted right back at her. John B and Pope both shoved him, embarrassed.

“Shut up.” Kie shouted back rolling her eyes. “You getting in or what?”

And at that they all jumped in.

The further into summer they got, the worse things got. Especially since they all began to get just a little bit territorial. During the summer following their freshman year they began to go to (and host) kegger’s at the boneyard- where they would all get pissed, and occasionally high too.

Unfortunately, it was at these kegger’s that the boy’s realised that not only did they find Kie hot, but every single guy on the island thought the same. Every time a guy would hit on Kie they found themselves clenching their fists and muttering curses under their breath. But to be perfectly honest, neither John B nor JJ had much of a leg to stand on.

Since they’d both discovered that Touron’s now found them incredibly attractive- they’d… well let’s just say neither of them had kept things very PG-13 over the summer. But that still didn’t change the fact that they felt an urge of jealousy overcome them as they watched Kie flirt or dance with a stranger. Pope tried to ignore it but couldn’t help the pit of disappointment form in his stomach. John B managed it by “accidentally” misguiding all of Kie’s potential suitors (occasionally telling them that she was a lesbian). JJ often outright told them to fuck off.Fortunately for them both, Kie had somehow not realised what they had been doing and remained oblivious to it all.

As summer moved on though, JJ noticed that Kie was more… open with him than she had been before. She teased and joked with him, and most of the time she flirted with him right back. “Dude- she was totally checking me out today.” JJ told John B as they watched Kie walk down the dock to go back home. Pope had already left earlier that day, needing to help his dad.

“She was not.” John B replied shoving JJ jokingly.

“She was too. I could tell- she’s been making eyes at me man.”

“Eyes? What the hell do you mean she’s been making eyes?”

“You know- the eyes.” JJ pulled fluttered his eyes at John B to represent what she’d been doing.

“Dude stop that- it’s creepy as fuck.”

“Obviously I can’t do it- I’m a guy, that’s girl shit right there. But I swear man, she’s into me. She keeps crossing her arms right in front of me- and you know what that does to _them_ \- I mean, come on!” JJ groaned out loud, laying back on the floor of the boat.

“JJ- that’s because she’s constantly telling you off.” John B said as a matter of fact. “Not because she likes you. Stop reading into it.”

“I’m telling you- she’s into me. I can tell, we’re just… flirting, like all the fucking time.”

“Not to kill your buzz or anything- but that’s just Kie. She’s like that with everyone.”

“No- it’s different I swear. I can tell. Are you saying all this because you’re jealous or something? Cause I know you like her too man. You know I wouldn’t do anything if it’d upset you.” JJ told him. “Even if it mean’t me not making a move on the girl of my dreams.”

“The girl of your dreams. Really?” John B asked him tone dead.

“Dude, she’s hot, smart, chill, she smokes weed, she drinks, she surfs, she’s the life of the party and she actually likes hanging out with us. Need I say more?” JJ asked his best friend raising an eyebrow. “Besides, you never answered my question. You want me to back off or what?”

John B sighed and collapsed right next to JJ on the floor of the HMS Pogue. “Nah, you should go for it if you think she’s into you. Like- of course I have a thing for her, but we all do. Doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try it, right? If she likes you then she likes you- me and Pope will get over it. Besides, Kie’s into that feminism shit and I feel like she’d beat my balls to a pulp if she heard that I’d called dibs or something.”

“That was deep man.” JJ yawned.

“So, you going to try something?”

“Yeah- probably at some point. You know me, barely any self-control.”

So, at that JJ decided that he was going to do it- he was going to make a move. The opportunity presented itself sooner than he was expecting at a kegger not two weeks later. All day they had had a flirtatious banter going on, and JJ had noticed that Kie often “accidentally” touched him on his knee, bicep- anywhere really.

And at the kegger things only got worse (or better, depending on how you look at things). As they both got drunk, JJ noticed Kie getting even more handsy- taking his hand and pulling him over to get more beers and dancing with him slightly (very) provocatively. As he watched Kie swaying and laughing to the sound of the music at nearly two in the morning, it was then (through his beer google eyes) that JJ decided to make his move. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, causing her to giggle loudly. He then started to lean forward and was within centimetres of kissing her before he heard her whisper. “JJ-I, this isn’t a good idea. I’m sorry.” Dejectedly he pulled away and sighed.

“I’m sorry, I-”

Kiara cut him off quickly. “No- don’t be, but… you’re not just some guy- we’re friends JJ. Really great friends. And I just don’t want to ruin that and make things awkward by drunkenly kissing you.”

“Right. I’m still sorry though.” JJ told her.

“Don’t be.” Kie leant up and kissed his cheek before hugging him. JJ held her to him tightly. “I love you JJ.” He knew it wasn’t in that way, but it still meant a lot to him.

“Yeah- I love you too Kie. Now come on, let’s go get another beer- I bet I can down one faster than you.”

“Oh- you’re on!”

A week later Kie came up with the “no Pogue-on-Pogue macking” rule (ouch) and JJ realised that perhaps he wasn’t the one for Kie. But he was one of her best friends- and she loved him. And, for now at least, that was enough.

* * *

When JJ told John B that he’d made a move and she’d pied him he wasn’t happy per say, but he wasn’t exactly disappointed either. He couldn’t lie, for a long time he’d thought that JJ was right- that Kie did have a thing for him. She was always paying just a little bit more attention to JJ than Pope and himself. But following the introduction of the “no Pogue-on-Pogue macking” rule, he noticed Kie distance herself slightly from JJ. Not massively, they were still great friends- but now when JJ flirted with her, she would typically laugh it off rather than flirt right back.

Not that John B would complain, because all that lost attention for JJ turned into more attention for him. Whenever he was in any sort of trouble, she was the first to make sure he was okay. She had also become a semi-mom to him of sorts. He’d now gone almost five months without his dad- and two months with no guardian at all, and Kie had taken it upon herself to make sure that he was always fed properly by bringing food from The Wreck multiple times a week.

This newfound attention carried on throughout the year, and right until the beginning of summer in their sophomore year. JJ was now convinced that Kie had a thing for him, and he couldn’t lie- he was more than slightly tempted. If there was any girl on the island that was his type, it was Kie. So, after months of JJ filling his head with ideas, he bit the bullet and went for it. He kissed her.

Looking back, he knew he hadn’t really got the timing all that right- they’d just been in a middle of an argument and it was all very sudden. It wasn’t even a good kiss either- he was relatively disappointed in himself; he’d kissed dozens of girls before but with Kie he’s a clumsy mess. After the kiss all he heard was rejection- “we’re friends”, “there’s the rule you know?” Yep, he was back in the friendzone alright. When he’d told JJ, he hadn’t been able to stop laughing- saying he had no tact whatsoever.

He was relatively humiliated in the aftermath. And annoyed that he’d made things awkward- but after a while, things went right back to normal. And then he found Sarah- beautiful, gorgeous, smart and funny Sarah.

She was different to Kie in many ways but similar in others- more naïve in many respects, but equally as abrasive. He’d always thought that Kie was perfect for him in ways that girl’s like Sarah would never be. They liked all the same stuff; she was fun and cool and hot, and she knew how to keep him in check. Kiara felt like coming home to a fresh batch of cookies. But Sarah… Sarah. There was something about her, when he thought of her, he was terrified and excited all at once. She was the opposite to him in many ways, yet the exact same in many others. Sarah felt nothing like warm cookies. Instead she felt like… to be honest he wasn’t even sure what she felt like. A volcanic eruption, a swarm of butterflies- he didn’t know. But there was no doubt in his mind now. Sarah Cameron was the one for him, the love of his life.

* * *

In hindsight Pope should have known that Kie wasn’t the one for him. He’d had a crush on her pretty much from the day he met her (unlike John B and JJ, who he’s pretty sure only had a thing for her once she had developed breasts). But it could also be very plausible that he’d only liked her because she was the only girl on the island that gave him the kind of day.

He hadn’t been lying when he’d told her he loved her- in his mind he did, he always had. She was beautiful and smart and kind and all of the things he’d ever wanted in a girl. And he was her confidant- the one that she talked to when she didn’t know what to do. So, in his mind she loved him too- she just… didn’t know it yet.

But when she had rejected him, it had hurt. Badly. It felt as though all the walls around him were crashing down and he didn’t know what to do. And then she kissed him, and it was… well it was strange to be frank.

Not that he was a teenage girl, but he’d always imagined their first kiss to be passionate, mind blowing and full of love. (Okay he was totally a teenage girl- he wanted fireworks, sparks- the whole shebang.) But it wasn’t passionate or mind blowing. There were no sparks. It was, well it was kind of awkward to be perfectly honest. Their lips had moved really awkwardly, and he wasn’t entirely sure whether she actually wanted to kiss him either- even if she had initiated it. She had literally just rejected him- so, she really couldn’t be that into him.

He’d been proven right when he noticed that she was avidly avoiding him- although to be fair it could have been because she was avoiding the world after having lost not only John B but Sarah too. After almost a week of not seeing or hearing from her he decided enough was enough and texted her, telling her that they needed to talk, and she should come over as soon as she could (he was on house arrest and couldn’t meet her anywhere else). He knew it was vague, but he knew that she would just ignore any other message. So, when Kie came over to the house looking like she could have a panic attack at any moment, he knew that he had to say something straight away. “Kie, I was wrong.” He mumbled as soon as she’d asked him if she could talk.

Kiara stood there frozen, looking like a deer caught in headlights. “Umm, sorry Pope I’m not really sure what you mean.”

And then, as Pope does on a day to day basis, he started to talk- and couldn’t really stop. “I was wrong Kie- when I told you I loved you. I love you, of course I do but not in the way that I thought I did, or the way that you thought I thought I did. Does that make sense?” He rambled.

“Umm. Not really.” She told him utterly confused.

“I love you in the way that anyone loves their best friend. I love you like I love JJ and …” He paused thinking about John B but shook his head violently before he lost his train of thought. “I love you Kie. But I’m not in love with you- I thought I was I really did. You’re amazing- you’re smart and kind and funny and I mean super-hot so how could I not like you? But then when we kissed- I dunno, it was weird. It was weird right- that’s not just me?” He watched as Kie nodded her head hesitantly in agreement. “Right, well it was weird. And I think I know now that how I felt, how I feel, isn’t being in love. I think I just got… caught up. So, I’d really appreciate it if we could kind of forget about this whole us thing and go back to being just friends?”

Kie smiled shyly at him and went in for a big hug. “Pope, I love you too. And I want us to always be best friends. I’m sorry if I haven’t always shown you how much you mean to me.”

“I know how much I mean to you Kie.” Pope replied, relaxing into the hug. “Don’t worry, we’ll always be friends. Pogues for life, right?”

“Yeah, Pogues for life.” He heard her sniffle and felt tears leak onto his top. “I miss them too Kie.” He murmured before pulling her in tighter. She may not be the love of his life, but god-damnit he was going to make sure that she was in his life for good.

* * *

JJ had always had a thing for Kiara, that much was obvious to literally anyone with eyes. But the fact that he was in love with her? Well, that was a surprise even to himself.

He’d started to notice his feelings grow stronger soon after John B and Sarah had been declared dead. Kie had always been the strong one of their group, the tape that kept them all together. Many would think that it was John B, but it was her. It had been from the day they’d met her. It had become obvious when she left them during her Kook year. The three remaining Pogue’s had all become reckless, they fought more, and they talked less. It felt like they were falling apart, like the Pogues could no longer be Pogues when Kiara wasn’t one. And then when she had come back, things simply returned to normal and peace was restored- simple as.

But after… the incident let’s call it, Kie suddenly became a shell of her usual self. At first, he didn’t notice- JJ, Pope and Kie all grieved separately for almost a month. He had gone off the rails initially to be perfectly honest. He hadn’t been sober at any point whatsoever following the news and had barely noticed a day go by. He just spent his time in the Chateau, getting drunk and high- doing anything and everything he could to just… make the pain go away.

It wasn’t until Pope came by one day (after being put under house arrest for three weeks) telling him that he needed to pull his shit together that he realised how long he’d gone without any human contact. After three days of Pope nursing him back to health, Pope told him that Kie wasn’t in a good state- at all, and he realised that Pope’s ominous comment made him just as scared as seeing his dad every time he dared to go home.

When they arrived at Kie’s house he realised that things were different simply by the way her parents acted. Usually they’d look at them in disgust, and would very reluctantly let them in. However, they let them in immediately- and JJ almost swore in disbelief when he saw Mrs Carrera smile at them. “Pope, you brought JJ! Go right upstairs, she’s in her room.”

Pope thanked her and they began to walk through the house and up the stairs, going to her room. “What the fuck is going on Pope? Why are you acting so weird- and why was her momso happy to see us?”

“She… Kie- she’s not eating JJ, like at all. I noticed she’d lost some weight a few weeks ago when she came to visit me- but now… it’s scary.” Pope told him. “Like- you were bad, I’m not going to lie. But what you were doing, I feel like that’s how I’d always imagined you’d grieve. And yeah, that first day when I came to see you- you looked like shit, but you pulled yourself together alright and I know you’ll be okay. But Kie… I’m scared man. Like really scared.”

JJ thought about what Pope had said but rationalised in his mind that if this was what Kie was doing to grieve, then it wasn’t too bad. Eventually she’d get over this, she’d eat again, and she’d be back to normal. “Dude… she’s grieving. We all are. She’ll go back to normal eventually, we just have to give her some time.”

Pope shook his head violently. “No- JJ, I thought that too when I came over and her parents first told me. But… her parents called the hospital last week. She fainted- she just fainted. She just doesn’t eat- she hasn’t eaten in weeks. And every time she does eat her parents say she throws up after. She can’t hold it down- her parents are thinking of sending her to rehab or something. Dude, she could die.”

At that JJ was scared. He’d already lost one friend- he couldn’t lose another. But still, Kie was one of the strongest people he knew. There was no way things were as bad as Pope was making it out to be. He was proven wrong as soon as Pope opened the door to her room, and he noticed her. Pope was right, this was scary. Kie… wasn’t Kie anymore. She’d always been slender, but her face was now sullen and had lost its beautiful glow. She’d lost so much weight he could practically see her ribcage. She looked so weak- and lost. “JJ. Pope. Hey.” She said as soon as she noticed them in the door. He noticed her quickly cover herself with a blanket, probably from shame and embarrassment. “Umm… come in- sit down.”

“I’m actually going to go.” Pope told them- this surprised JJ. He thought they were talking to her together. “I’m still on semi-house arrest, but I’ll see both of you tomorrow okay?” They both nodded at him and he smiled weakly before leaving her toom.

When Pope had left JJ just stood there and looked at Kie. “Are you going to just stare at me all day? Or are you actually going to come say hey to your best friend?” Kie said jokingly. Normally JJ would come up with a quip in response by right now he wasn’t sure how she was able to joke at all and brushed her comment off. He approached her slowly, as if afraid he would scare her off if he moved too quickly and then sat next to her on her bed. “I’m not going to disappear you know- you can stop acting so weirdly.”

“I’m not sure at this point Kie.” It could easily have been a phrase that he would usually say in a joking matter, but it was said in a serious tone that neither of them knew JJ had in the first place. “What happened Kie? Why are you doing this?”

Kiara suddenly had an angry look and her face, and for a moment- just a moment- he forgot that she wasn’t the old Kie. His Kie. “What- do you think I want to be this way?” She asked harshly. “I know what I’m doing- I know what I look like. But I can’t help it JJ- I really can’t. I- I try, I really try. But every time I eat it just comes back up- I can’t help it, it just does. I know what I’m doing to myself, I’m not stupid. I don’t want to be this way but – I don’t know how to stop.” She suddenly burst out into tears and JJ realised he’d never seen something, someone, so terrifyingly beautiful.

He took her into his arms and just held her, although it frightened him that he felt as if she was made of glass and she could just shatter at any moment. “Kie- I can’t lose you too. I can’t. Please… you’ve got to be strong Kie. For me.”

“I want to JJ.” She said burrowing her face into his shoulder. “I just don’t know how. I feel so- lost, and guilty- and scared. I feel like I’ve lost control of my life and… I just don’t know what to do.”

“I get it Kie- I do, really. Pope and I both do.” He murmured into her hair.

“I didn’t mean-”

“No- I know. I know. You’re grieving Kie, I get it.” He told her. “You should have seen me, Pope literally had to nurse me back to health- I haven’t been sober for a month.”

At that Kiara’s head shot up to look at him. “What? JJ- that’s not healthy! You can’t just rely on Pope to fix you-”

He stopped her as soon as he realised she was going to go on a rant. “So how do you think I feel right now seeing you?” Kiara’s head looked down in shame, and all he wanted to do was make everything better with the world. For her. “Kie- you’ve got to try okay. For me- please. I can’t lose you.” He was almost whispering to her at this point and she looked at him. He swore all that shit about being able to read someone’s soul through their eyes was true in that moment. “We can do it together, okay? I- I promise to stay sober- or at least normal JJ sober, if you eat and do everything you can to keep it down.” She nodded slowly at him.

“I- can I stay with you? At the Chateau?” She asked him shyly, twiddling her fingers.

He was confused at that. Whilst he loved the Chateau with all his heart, he wasn’t quite sure why she would want to stay there as opposed to her massive house in Figure 8 with her parents. “Sure Kie- but… why?”

“I can’t be here right now- my parents act like… I don’t even know. It’s just weird. I just don’t feel at home right now here.”

“Will your parents even let you?”

Kiara shrugged at his question. “I’m sure they won’t be too happy. But if they think you can get me to eat, I’m pretty sure they won’t mind.”

“Okay- yeah come stay with me. But on the condition that you do eat.”

Kiara gulped as if that sounded like the most difficult thing in the world. “I- I’ll try JJ. I promise.”

“I guess that’s all I can hope for.”

Her parents actually were okay with it, Kie had been right. They were willing to try just about anything at this point. Although, Kiara’s dad had said that it was on the condition that they both ate dinner at his restaurant everyday so that he could check up on her and see that she was in fact eating (as if that was something for JJ to complain about).

And from that day (and as agreed with her parents for the rest of the summer) Kie lived with JJ at the Chateau. It wasn’t easy at first- at all. JJ majorly underestimated how difficult it would be to get her to start eating again. It didn’t help that JJ’s food schedule was spotty at best in the first place- considering he was more of I’ll eat if I have anything in or have the money kind of person. But Kie’s parents had given them a food allowance (making him begin to wonder why Kie would ever complain about them) so he was at least able to make sure that the fridge was always stocked.

The first day he’d gone with the just make her eat anything and everything approach. This had not been a good idea. Not only did Kie look like she was going to cry at every minute of every day (which pained him greatly) but it got to a point where after eating just a bite of some eggs would make her throw up. They also argued constantly, JJ telling her that she needed to try harder and Kie arguing that she _was_ trying, and she just couldn’t keep it down. It got to a point where she told him to just give up- which was something he fiercely argued against. He would never give up on her. Ever.

So, he tried a new approach, where they’d cook breakfast and lunch together. This strategy seemed to work better by a landslide- and it helped him as well as Kie. Kie had always been a good cook- it came with the fact that her dad was a professional chef. So now, she was not only teaching him how to cook as well, but she also began to see food in a positive light again. She enjoyed teaching him about nutrition and how to make healthy things taste good. And it took a long time, but eventually she was able to eat at least two meals a day without having the urge to throw up. And he enjoyed taking care of her, it was a nice change to constantly thinking about the fact that his best friend- brother really, was dead.

Slowly, but surely, she began to gain weight again and was going back to her usual self. Pope and JJ were both thrilled every time they went for dinner at The Wreck and saw Kiara eat every single item on her plate. It didn’t always happen, it took time, but it was happening more and more frequently.

Although, in hindsight JJ should have realised that the best way to kickstart her appetite would have been the munchies. After almost a month of living together JJ had craved a joint- having gone a month without one. So, he convinced Kie that it would be a good idea to get high (although it wasn’t a difficult feat) and even managed to get Pope to join them (which took a lot more convincing), and that very evening they smoked several joints whilst lounging around the Château. And he’d never seen Kie eat so much in his life.

She started by eating bags of sweets and crisps, stuffing them in her mouth continuously throughout the night. And then she moved onto cereal, eating it out of the box. After that she claimed that she was thirsty and began to eat an entire tub of ice cream (JJ wasn’t sure how that would help with thirst but he wasn’t complaining) and eventually she moved on to crave something more savoury and decided to put an entire bag of frozen chicken nuggets in the oven- and ate almost half of the bag. And neither Pope nor JJ had felt happier throughout the entire summer.

Eventually Kie was back to her normal self, and JJ forgot that she had ever had an eating problem in the first place- and her living with him was just a normality. The three remaining Pogue’s now had a new normal- and things were getting easier with every day that passed. JJ, Kie and Pope had become even closer than before- if that were even possible. It was as if the mutual pain they’d all endured had just caused them to bond even more.

By the time September rolled around and they were about to begin their junior year it had hit them like a tonne of bricks that John B and Sarah had been gone for almost three months, and Kie’s parents wanted her to move back home. It was the only the first night after she had left that JJ realised just how used to Kiara’s presence he’d become. They spent almost every minute of every day together- and he wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to do without her. All he wanted to do was get drunk and high and just make everything go away again. But he knew neither Kie nor Pope would be pleased, and he resisted the urge. But then memories of John B began to flood his mind and all he could think about was drowning his sorrows with a bottle of whisky. And then his phone rang- he picked up immediately.

“JJ?” Kie’s voice was so quiet he could barely hear her.

“Hey Kie.” He responded slightly shakily.

Apparently, she took no notice of that. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I know it’s late.” Warmth filled his heart at the sound of her voice. He could just imagine her sitting on her bed hugging her knees and clutching the phone in her hand as she spoke.

This was the Kiara he rarely got to see and didn’t even know existed until just a few weeks ago. She was always so strong and defiant, but at times like these that he saw how vulnerable she could truly be, and it made him want to do nothing but protect her from the world.

“It’s okay- I wasn’t able to sleep either. It’s weird without you here.” He murmured into the phone, all thoughts of whisky and beer disappearing from his mind.

“It’s weird not being there. Not being with you.”

They spoke for hours after that. About how sad they still were about John B and Sarah. About how happy they were that Pope had managed to reorganise his scholarship interview and had a second chance. About how afraid they were of just life. They spoke of anything and everything until eventually after almost four hours he heard Kie lightly snoring through the speaker. He smiled to himself but refused to hang up- instead he used it to help him sleep, it was almost like a lullaby.

It was that very night that JJ realised just how strong his feelings for Kiara had become. He’d always cared about her deeply, just as he did Pope (and John B), but more recently his feelings had become so much stronger. He’d always loved the strong, clever, fun, sarcastic and snarky side to Kie. But he’d gotten to know a new side to her over the summer- the side that she would probably say was her worst side, the side that she tried to hide from everyone. But JJ thought it made her that much more beautiful. She could be scared, insecure and vulnerable at times. She was human- just like he was.

And now not only did he feel more protective of her, he now felt the need to always do anything in his power to make her… feel. Really feel. To make her feel safe, happy, excited, vulnerable- and even angry at times. All he wanted to do was make her feel _alive_ \- which was exactly how she made him feel on a day to day basis. There was no doubt in his mind. He was in love with Kiara Carrera.

After a few days of dwelling on this realisation the guilt began to overcome him. Yes, Pope and Kie had ended it- but Pope was still his best friend, and he had loved her. Perhaps was still in love with her.

And it got worse after he started to work with Kie at The Wreck. When Mr Carrera had offered him a job as a waiter JJ had been pretty sure that he was joking- but after assuring him that he was dead serious JJ had said yes immediately. He still wasn’t entirely sure why he’d been hired, but he wasn’t complaining- now he was getting paid regularly, and food after school pretty much every day. So now every day after school, and on Saturday afternoons, he would wait on any customers at The Wreck with Kie as the only other waitress on duty.

So, the only problem now was that he was spending hours on end with Kie following his recent realisation. His relationship with Kie had changed over the summer- that much was obvious to anyone. They had always been close, but now she… touched him more. Not like that (although he wished it), but she was just more affectionate around him. She had always been comfortable around him- even before living together she felt perfectly comfortable putting her feet in his lap or playfully slapping his shoulder. But now she would do things like kiss his cheek and put her head on his shoulder whenever she was tired. He knew it was because they’d lived together and had become incredibly close, but it had been different when she’d been living with him over the summer- he’d had no idea of his feelings for her. But now every time she was near him it would send him down some weird spiral and all he would think about was how he wanted to braid her hair and feed her grapes or some shit- yeah… he had a problem. And he needed to needed to tell Pope fast before he did something stupid.

It took JJ almost a month of working at the Wreck before he managed to pluck up the courage. Okay, to be perfectly honest he knew he had to say something the day he saw Kie in a bikini again for the first time in months. She’d only just become happy with her body once more and after seeing her in a tiny bikini with a joint in her hand wearing his cap he was pretty sure he could do something very stupid like propose at any moment so the very next time he’d seen Pope alone he said something. “Pope- I uh… need to talk to you.”

“Sure…” Even though he had said sure, he sounded incredible unsure. But JJ pressed on.

“I- uh… I’m- well, you know-”

Pope began to get worried- JJ was a very straight forward person and very rarely wasn’t able to say what was on his mind. “Spit it out JJ.”

“I’m in love with her- Kie I mean.” He blurted out quickly. “You probably want to punch me; I don’t blame you. I deserve it- so go on. Hit me, as hard as you want.” JJ squinted in anticipation, waiting for the punch. But it never came.

“I don’t want to hit you JJ.” Pope said, JJ swore he could almost hear amusement in his voice. “It was pretty obvious anyway.”

“Why aren’t you pissed? You literally told her you loved her three months ago. Go on- just hit me!”

“JJ- I’m not mad alright!” Pope almost shouted- somehow in a simultaneously frustrated and laughable manner, but he calmed down straight after. “Me and Kie are cool man- seriously. I’m not even sure if I was ever really in love with her anyway, it was more the idea of her. I was just really confused. Either way Kie kissed me out of pity more than anything else I’m pretty sure- and I’m over it now.”

JJ was a little bit stunned at Pope’s confession. “Really? You’re over her- completely?”

Pope looked at him thoughtfully. “I mean- I’m not sure whether completely is the right word. I still think she’s super-hot and stuff. But I know we’re not right for each other- we’re just so different. And I wouldn’t want to mess up our friendship for some kind of torrid affair.”

JJ burst out laughing at that. “Torrid affair? Really? You’re so weird Pope.” 

“Hey- I’m giving you the green light here man! The least you could do is be nice to me.” Pope snarked, whacking him over the head.

“Umm- ow!”

“Stop being a pussy.” Pope rolled his eyes.

To which JJ responded, “You’re a pussy.” In a sulky manner. “So, you’re cool? Honestly.”

“Yeah I’m cool. Just don’t start making out in front of me or anything.”

“Hey- if Kie’s up for that I’m making no promises.”

“Ass.” Pope muttered. “You know that girl must have magic powers or some shit- that’s three for three, can you believe it?”

After hanging out with Pope that October afternoon JJ decided that he should probably now tell Kie. Especially since he knew how bad of a secret keeper Pope was and if he didn’t tell her first, he wasn’t sure how long it would be before Pope spilled the beans.

Unfortunately, that very weekend everything went to shit. It was probably a stupid thing to do but he’d forgotten all about the fact that Barry knew he’d stolen 25k from him. He’d kind of forgotten about it all.

Everything had just been so different ever since John B and Sarah had been declared dead. Rafe had gone to jail after Ward had turned him in to save his own skin and Shoupe hadn’t asked them anything, knowing how difficult this all was for them. So, until now the three remaining Pogues hadn’t thought of anything but John B. JJ could only assume that Barry had been keeping low which was why he’d left them alone. But he’d just threatened JJ very seriously that he wanted his money back or else he’d come for him- and even worse, for Pope and Kie too.

So now he had a month to pay him back- or else. Working at the Wreck had been helpful, he earned a good salary and didn’t spend much of it but he’d only managed to save a couple of hundred dollars- so he still needed thousands more to pay Barry back and there was no way he was able to make that kind of money within the month legally. There were always _illegal_ solutions to any problem- but this was the first time in months that he’d even considered doing illegal shit and he’d found it relatively nice (you know aside from the underage drinking and the weed smoking). But he had to do something regardless of how much he didn’t want to.

Both Kie and Pope began to notice how tetchy JJ had become almost immediately. Kie had taken to spending every minute of her free time with him to figure out what was wrong- which wasn’t helpful in the slightest because he hated lying to her and he was terrified of what she would do if she found out. Eventually after a week of considering what to do he figured that the best thing to do at least for the moment was to tell Pope- who could at least help him sell the hot-tub and make some money from that.

When he’d told Pope, he’d freaked out to say the least. He went on a major rant but had eventually calmed down and had in fact managed to sell the hot tub online (for cash) within only 6 hours. “So, we have 15k in cash to pay Barry with. Okay- this isn’t too bad. We only need to find 10k in three weeks.” Pope looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack, but JJ appreciated that he was trying to hold it together.

“Look thanks man, but this is my mess. After the guy gives me the cash and takes the hot tub tomorrow you don’t have to do anything else okay? This is my mess.”

Pope was angry at that. “Your mess? What the fuck- JJ this is our mess. Yours, mine and Kie’s!”

“No! It’s not Pope, I was the idiot that stole from that son of a bitch- not you and not Kie. So you’re not involved alright? And neither is Kie so you’d better not tell her.”

“JJ- she can help!”

“Don’t! You tell her and I’ll never forgive you. I’ll figure something out.”

“JJ doing more illegal shit to solve your old illegal shit won’t work!”

“Look don’t worry alright? I’ll figure it out!”

“JJ-” JJ stormed out before Pope managed to get another word in.

Another two weeks went by and he had a plan- a solid one. It had taken him a while, but he’d figured it out- he could get 10k in one swoop and hopefully no one would ever know. His dad still had the keys to where he used to work- all he had to do was steal them (hopefully when his dad was passed out), and then go to his dad’s old workplace and steal four of their deep-sea camera’s. They were all worth almost three grand, and he knew that there would be loads at the salvage yard so hopefully (if he did it carefully enough) they wouldn’t even notice. He could then sell it with Pope’s help of course and voila he could pay Barry back.

Or… that was the plan until Barry found him the next day. “Look Barry- you said next week I-”

“What are you talking about?” Barry genuinely looked confused. “I’m just here to say that if I ever see you or your bitch of a girlfriend again, I’ll make you wish you were dead.” Barry was snarling at him viciously now and if JJ wasn’t so confused, he probably would have pissed his pants.

“My- what?”

Barry didn’t answer him, he just snarled once more before getting in his car and driving away. Fear washed over JJ as he realised that Barry was probably talking about Kie. What had she done? At that he ran to the van as fast as he could and drove straight to Kiara’s. He knocked at the door violently and greeted Mrs Carrera quickly before rushing up to Kie’s room. (Although he still wasn’t used to how nice Kie’s parents had been to him in the past few months he couldn’t deny that there were several perks- including the fact that they were no longer concerned about him hanging out with their daughter.)

When he arrived at her room he barged straight in, not caring enough to knock. “What the _hell_ did you do Kie.” He hissed at her.

“What the hell JJ? No- hey Kie what’s up? No- nice to see you it’s been _three weeks_ since I even noticed your existence.” Kiara hissed right back with a furious look on her face.

“Cut the crap Kiara. Barry just came to see me and told me to stay away from him. What the hell did you _do_?”

“Why are you so mad right now? This is a good thing.” Kie was almost shouting at him now.

“No it’s not Kie! Because that implies you got involved- and I didn’t want you involved in the first place-”

“And why not huh? We’re supposed to be a team JJ! You can’t just keep me in the dark about shit like this!”

“Stop avoiding my damn question Kie- what the fuck did you do!”

“I paid him alright!” JJ could hear the fury and frustration in her voice, but he didn’t care how angry _she_ was- _he_ was uttlerly livid. “I paid him and I told him that if he ever came near me you or Pope again I’d go straight to Shoupe and I’d tell him about all the illegal shit he does and that I’d get my dad to hire a lawyer to make sure that he would go to jail and never see the light of day again.”

“I can’t believe you!”

“I can’t believe _you_! Why are you even angry? He’s leaving us alone and you don’t have to do anything illegal to pay him back. _I’m_ the one that gets to be angry. I’ve been worried sick for weeks not knowing what’s been going on and then Pope comes and tells me that he’s worried about you and-.”

“I’m going to _kill_ that son of a bitch. I told him not to tell you.” JJ was seething.

“Forget about Pope! How could _you_ not tell me JJ? After everything we’ve been through- how could you just keep me in the dark?” He could hear her tear up, but he ignored that and pushed on.

“I was doing that to protect you Kie!”

“I. Don’t. Need. Protection.” He’d never seen her so angry in his life.

“Oh really? You really think that? Kie this summer all you needed was protection! You almost died because you refused to eat for fucks sake- I think I’m allowed to worry about you going to face a _drug dealer_.”

“I can’t believe you’re throwing that in my face. Get out!” Her voice was shrill, and tears were streaming down her face, but JJ refused to give in.

“No! How could you be so stupid- he could have killed you!”

“Get out JJ! I don’t want to see you right now- leave!”

“No Kie! I’m not leaving- you know why? Because I need _you_ to understand that you can’t go around playing the hero when you can’t even defend yourself.” Kie was full on sobbing at this point but JJ refused to feel guilty.

“Please just leave JJ! I need to be alone.” He still had so much more to say but he could tell that they weren’t going to get any further with this conversation and he left.

After that JJ and Kie refused to talk to each other. Okay, that was a lie- Kie refused to talk to JJ (or even acknowledge his presence for that matter). He was still furious but with every day that passed he just realised how missed her, and that his anger was truly just hiding how scared he was at the realisation that she had put herself in danger and he’d had no idea. Even worse- she’d put herself in danger for _him_.

“Dude you need to cut the bullshit and apologise.” Pope told him ffter almost a month of having barely seen Kie, let alone spoken to her. He’d been furious at Pope as well-, but he’d argued that she deserved to know, and had thought that she would just try to talk him out of anything illegal, not go to Barry by herself.

“I didn’t do anything wrong! I’m not apologising- she’s the one who went and put herself in danger without even telling me.”

“I mean- that’s kind of the pot calling the kettle black JJ.” Pope told him rolling his eyes.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Never mind. Look- I know what she did was dangerous, but she was obviously scared that you’d stop her. And you said some pretty nasty ass shit to her so to be honest she really does have a right to be mad at you.”

“You talked to her about me?”

Pope ignored JJ’s question and carried on. “Besides she lost out on 25k for you, so I feel like you need to forgive her.”

“What do you mean she lost out on 25k? Don’t you mean 10k?”

“JJ- _you’re_ the one with the cash from the hot tub. You still have that- so no obviously she lost out on 10k.”

In all honesty JJ had completely forgotten that she’d had to have got the money from somewhere and it freaked him out more thinking about where _she’d_ gotten the money from. What if she’d done something illegal? Or had stolen from her parents or something. This was all just getting worse. At that he quickly got up from where he sat in the Chateau and left Pope once again to go to Kie’s house.

“Hey Mrs Carrera.” He smiled as Kie’s mom opened the door.

“Afternoon JJ- Kiara’s just in her room, go straight up.”

He arrived in Kie’s room to see her sitting on her bed playing her ukulele. After everything that had happened recently, he’d forgotten how utterly beautiful she was. “Hey Kie.” She looked up slightly startled at the sound of his voice before turning back to the instrument she was playing, ignoring his presence. “Look I’m sorry alright? I didn’t mean to hurt you- you just really scared me.”

Kie sighed and put down her ukulele. “I’m sorry that I scared you, okay? But you scared me too- I thought things were finally getting a bit better for you and then-”

“I know.” He cut her off and sat next to her on her bed before she went on a massive spiral. “Just… don’t scare me like that again okay?”

“I won’t if you won’t.” He glared at her at that, causing her to giggle and so JJ started to tickle her- as one does. “No- stop! JJ! Seriously!” She couldn’t stop giggling and he only stopped after he realised that she would probably run out of oxygen if he continued. “I hate you.” She said breathily, having collapsed on her back on the bed.

“You love me.” She hummed at that, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his statement. “Kie I need you to tell me something- and I promise I won’t be mad, but I need to know. How’d you pay Barry back? You didn’t steal from your parents, did you?”

“No! Of course not!” She looked utterly offended that he’d even suggest that. “I used my savings.”

“Your savings? You had 25 _thousand_ in savings.” JJ asked in disbelief. He knew she was rich, but not that rich.

“It was from my college tuition funds. It’s no big deal.” She told him nonchalantly.

“No big deal? Kie- you might not be able to go to _college_ because of me.” The guilt seeped into JJ’s gut at the thought.

“It wasn’t all of it! And I don’t even know if I want to go to college. Don’t worry- seriously JJ.”

“No! I’ve got the hot tub money and I’ll find a way to pay you back for the rest-”

Kie grabbed his face at that, forcing him to look at her. “JJ stop- I don’t want you to pay me back okay? Please- just let it be. Use the hot-tub money to pay for your restitution or better yet, use it to make sure you never have to worry about food or bills or _your dad_ ever again.”

“Why Kie? Why would you want to do that for me?” He whispered.

“Oh JJ. When are you going to learn that I’d do anything for you?” He couldn’t stop thinking about how beautiful she was, and how badly he wanted to kiss her. He slowly leant forward- and he swore that she was leaning forward too and then… they were interrupted. By Pope. Who had just barged into Kie’s room.

Before JJ could make some comment about Pope being a fucking cock block Pope opened his mouth and spoke out of breath. “Guys- you won’t believe it. They’re alive! John B and Sarah! They’re alive!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's A LOT more Jiara moments in this chapter, so I hope you all likes it. Unfortunately JJ just has really really bad timing lol.


	3. JJ is just plain blind

Everything had been a complete and utter rush ever since JJ, Kie and Pope had discovered that John B and Sarah were alive- they were all completely ecstatic and could hardly believe it. John B had called Pope on a burner phone (knowing he was the only one likely to pick up as the only semi-responsible one of the group). Apparently, they had been under cover for months and thought it had been way too risky to call earlier and had wanted to wait until they were sure everything regarding their disappearance had calmed down completely. The three of them were all furious that they hadn’t at least tried to contact them earlier, but John B was adamant that it was too risky.

“Guys- if you had found out immediately that we were alive they would have known something was up! They would have been suspicious- I love you but none of you are good actors.” John B told them all on the phone frankly. “We wanted to call you- honestly, but we knew you guys were the ones that would sell it that we were really gone. We knew that if you guys grieved us that everyone would believe we were dead.”

“I mean- I guess that makes sense.” Pope replied, to which Kie and JJ both shouted at him annoyed.

“Okay fine- you couldn’t tell us straight away, but why not a month after? Why after 3 fucking months man! We grieved you- we mourned you! What the fuck!” JJ shouted down the phone.

“JJ- tell me honestly were you done grieving for me after a month?” JJ couldn’t respond because of course that was a no. “See? If you’d gone back to normal or had started acting suspiciously after only a month then Shoupe would suspect something- and probably Ward too! This was the perfect amount of time because 3 months is how long it takes before people truly think someone’s dead. I know because it was the same with my Dad dude. I’m sorry I really am, but it was necessary.”

“Okay dude. I’m still annoyed but okay.” JJ responded. He heard John B sigh deeply in response.

“Thanks- now listen up all of you. We found the gold and we need your help.”

It had been a long year following the discovery that John B and Sarah were alive, but after months of lots of scheming, planning (and just a few illegal acts) the two were finally back home and they were all (incredibly) rich.

Unfortunately, they didn’t all have $80 million in cash to blow- there had been so many things that they hadn’t even considered like actually managing to transfer millions worth of gold into cash safely and legally. But whilst in the Bahamas John B and Sarah had managed to find a group of very rich and famous gold merchants who were willing to give them around 25 million in cash for 35 million in gold and had promised that they would do this no questions asked every year for the next 11 or so years. John B and JJ were incredibly miffed that they had been ripped off but the others had explained to them time and time again that it was the easiest way for them to get the money- and they would still make 5 million each every year so it wasn’t like they were massively losing out.

So, in summary- life was pretty damn great. His best friend since the third grave was alive, he was richer than he’d ever been in his damn life and he had paid his restitution easily, which meant he never had to deal with his dad ever again. However, in the entirety of their hectic year JJ had also never found the time (nor the courage) to (finally) make a move on Kie. JJ had also begun to doubt whether she reciprocated his feelings as he began to think about what had happened just two years ago. He had misread everything- he had thought that she was flirting with him right back when in actual fact she was just doing her own Kie thing.

Thing’s between them had also changed once again after they had found out that John B and Sarah were still alive. Their almost kiss had been completely forgotten and they’d just been so busy that things between them went back to how it was before. They laughed and joked and flirted but they didn’t really talk like they used to. And he missed it- he missed it a lot. But as the summer following their junior year rolled around, it was almost as if JJ had given up on the idea of making a move on her- and was perfectly content with just leaving things as they were. Surprisingly, it was Pope that was getting more and more frustrated about it with every day that passed.

“Are you ever going to tell her?” Pope asked JJ in a relatively irritated voice on one rare day where it was just him, JJ and John B.

“Tell who what?” John B asked very confused- causing JJ to glare at Pope in a menacing manner.

“Nothing John B- Pope’s just talking shit.”

Pope raised his eyebrows, “Oh really.” He spat. “So, you’re not in love with Kie anymore then?”

“WHAT!” John B asked incredulously, sitting up straight and staring right at JJ as if he’d seen a ghost. “You’re in love with Kie?!”

“No!” JJ denied, and Pope looked back at him menacingly, causing him to shrink back.  
“Okay yeah- maybe. I don’t get why you’re getting so pissy about it though.” JJ snarked.

“Maybe I’m getting pissy about it because it’s been a year and I just want you two to just stop dancing around it!”

“Woah, woah, woah.” John B looked utterly bewildered. “Can we please back up? When on earth did you and Kie happen- did that happen? What happened to the no Pogue-on-Pogue macking rule?!”

“That rules bullshit anyway” JJ groaned “you guys have both kissed her so it’s not like you gave a fuck about it.”

“Pope’s kissed Kie!” John B practically shouted. “What the hell?”

The thing is, the group had been so invested in ensuring they got the gold they hadn’t really shared their experiences whilst they were all apart. But there was no time like the present. “Look, we all know that we’ve all had a thing for Kie at some point so we may as well get that out in the open.” Pope said as a matter of fact, and John B and JJ both shrugged and nodded in agreement.

“John B- in summary last year, literally right before you left, I got super high for the first time and then I told Kie I loved her- she turned me down and then she kissed me and then you went missing and things were super weird and we said that we’d forget about it and just stay friends. Before you ask- no I’m not in love with her anymore, still not sure whether I was but whatever. Anyway, because I missed my scholarship interview my dad grounded me after you died, and I didn’t hear anything from Kie or JJ so I had no clue what was going on. Turns out JJ was testing the limits of alcohol poisoning on a day to day basis and Kie had become anorexic. Next thing I know they’re living together at the Château trying to figure out how to actually live as functional human beings without you or Sarah there- and JJ falls in love with Kie in the process. JJ told me and was going to make a move and then I walked in on them almost kissing the day you first called. Turns out you’re alive and now it’s been almost nine months, but he still hasn’t made a damn move!” Pope glared at JJ once more.

John B seemed very baffled by Pope’s speech- he was starting to look like a fish out of water. Meanwhile JJ was grumbling about the fact that he had no idea why Pope even cared whether he had made a move or not, to which Pope responded that it was getting awkward as fuck seeing them flirt and not being able to say a damn word without Kie getting embarrassed and JJ wanting to strangle him.

“This – wow you leave for one year and a lot changes huh.” John B joked, but JJ and Pope could tell that he wasn’t really joking.

“John B- dude, nothing’s changed- not really. We all had a thing for Kie before you left, there were just a couple o’ progressions in that arena.” JJ said to him, throwing the cigarette he’d been smoking to the ground.

“Bit of an understatement JJ. You’re in love with her. And Kie… Kie’s anorexic.” John B’s last statement was almost stated in a whisper.

“Yeah- she’s better now dude, she was just grieving. We all were.” JJ said as he patted John B’s back.

“Right.” John B still looked like he could throw up, but he shook his head and sat up straight. “Pope’s right dude, when are you going to make a move. I mean- you’re in love bro, you don’t just ignore that shit.”

Both John B and Pope looked at JJ expectantly. “Well?” Pope asked him, raising his eyebrows. “Answer the damn question JJ.”

“I dunno dude!” JJ said exasperated. “I mean- what if she doesn’t like me too? I mean she’s already rejected me once before.”

“What?” Pope yelled. “When? How do I not know this?” He asked annoyed.

“He tried to kiss her in the 10th grade and she told him no.” John B told him, causing Pope to cross his arms annoyed across his chest and mutter, “thanks for telling me” under his breath.

“Anyway…” John B moved on and ignored Pope, “JJ- that was before you were in love with her. You have to know for sure bro! Even if you get rejected, believe me- love isn’t something you want to just throw away.”

“John B- the girl has literally rejected all three of us before. Why would now be any different?” JJ asked him.

“Well you were planning on making a move before, right?” John B asked him right back, and JJ nodded. “And Pope said you almost kissed- why were you going to going to make a move then but don’t want to now?”

“Because…” JJ wasn’t sure how to explain it. “When you were gone things between me and Kie were different- we were close. Like, really close- and she acted differently around me than before so I kinda thought she liked me. But then when you came back things literally went back to how they were before. So, I don’t know anymore- what if the almost kiss was just a fluke? You know?”

“Dude- you gotta tell her how you feel. Or at the very least ask her out.” John B told him. “You have to know- or you’ll never be able to get over her even if you’re right and she doesn’t like you too.”

“Right.” JJ muttered to himself. “Sure.”

After his conversation with his friends JJ decided to ask Kie out- on an actual date. There was a new restaurant opening up in Figure 8 and for once in his life he was able to afford a fancy dinner, so he was going to ask her to go with him there. You know, when he found the nerve. Three days later he was alone with Kie in the hammocks by the Château (John B and Pope had both constantly been making lame excuses to leave all weekend) and he decided that there was no time like the present. “So, Kie- you doing anything Friday night?”

Kie looked at him curiously. “I mean- I’ve got nothing planned. Usually we all go to a kegger or something.”

“So… want to go to that new Kook restaurant and make fun of all the Kooks that go? Now that I’m rich and everything I kind of want to see what all the fuss is about.” Kie smiled at him and shoved him playfully.

“Well of course- I’d never turn down an opportunity to make fun of Kooks.” JJ grinned and said no more. She’d said yes! He couldn’t believe it.

That Friday he honestly couldn’t believe it. Their date- or what was meant to be a date- was now the group of them going. This was like the ultimate rejection. He had to admit- it was kind of brilliant, rejecting him in a way that made it seem like she wasn’t rejecting him at all. She was rejecting him without making things awkward at all, and whilst he was (incredibly) bummed- he respected her for it.

“JJ- are you sure she’s rejecting you?” Pope asked, eyebrows furrowed, that very Friday. “What if she just made a mistake?”

“Pope, I’m telling you man- it was obvious that this was meant to be a date.” JJ told him as a matter of fact. “This is a rejection- but honestly man, I’m chill. John B was right- now I know, and I can move on and shit. And nothing even has to be awkward.”

“I just can’t believe it.” Pope muttered. “I was so sure she liked you”

“I get why you’re shocked bro.” JJ said in reply, throwing his arm around his shoulders. “I’m the ultimate babe magnet. But alas, Kie is able to ignore my charm.” Pope looked at him, looking both exasperated and concerned. “Honestly dude, I’m alright.” JJ told him, pulling his hand through his hair. “I’ll get over her- it’ll just take some time.”

Pope left it at that, and JJ accepted that whilst he may be in love with Kie- that didn’t mean she would feel the same way. But he had closure now, he was able to move on.

It turned out that moving on was a lot more difficult than JJ had thought. He’d thought that now he knew she wasn’t into him he could easily forget about her and move onto other girls. And he’d tried, oh boy he’d tried.

Throughout all of their senior year if there was ever an opportunity with a girl, JJ had taken it. He’d slept with almost thirty girls by this point and he was still head over heels in love with Kie.

When he’d first started sleeping around after she had rejected him, a small part of him had hoped that it would make her jealous. But she’d made it clear that she didn’t care when she also started to move on to other guys. It pained him greatly to see of course, he often had to grit his teeth, but it was almost like the nail in the coffin. She definitely did not like him, and he just had to accept that.

Almost a year after she had rejected him, on the night of their graduation from High School, JJ began to feel like the world was spinning a million times faster and he couldn’t keep track. Pope had a full scholarship to Stanford (even if he didn’t need it) to major in Biomechanical Engineering with a minor in Maths, Kie was planning all the things she was going to do and all the places she was going to go and John B and Sarah had decided elope in Vegas at the end of the Summer.

The group of five were all sitting around a large bonfire with a load of beers and weed and all JJ could think about was the fact that this was it. This was the end. Only two years ago, when first searching for the gold, JJ had thought that his life would have been complete once they found it- once they could go full Kook. But now… he was richer than he’d ever dreamed he could be, and he also felt empty. His friends all had plans and were all excited to start their new lives- and all he could think about was how they were all leaving him.

At three in the morning Pope was passed out on a deck chair, John B and Sarah had disappeared into John B’s bedroom in the Château and Kie and JJ were still sitting by the (dying out) fire, passing a joint between them. “You’ve barely spoken all night.” Kie said to him after a particularly large hit. “What’s up- you should be happy, school’s over. You never have to go to that shithole again.”

JJ turned his head to face her. She’d long since changed out of the fancy dress that her mom had made her wear for her graduation photos and was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a ratty old tie-dye t-shirt. She was still exactly the same girl as before- no amount of money could change her. And it fascinated him. “I dunno- that shitholes got a lot of memories.”

“Well- now it’s time for some new memories I guess.” Kie said, placing her head on his shoulder- causing him to put his arm around her and tug her closer.

“I’m pretty happy with the old ones- not sure I want to make new ones.” JJ murmured, playing with a flyaway piece of her hair.

“Don’t be silly, we have to want to make new memories- it’s too depressing to just remember the old ones.”

“I just wish I could stay here with you guys forever sometimes.” He practically whispered into her hair. She readjusted slightly so that she was now looking at him, and he was surprised she even heard him. He quickly rambled on before she could say anything more. “You just have all these plans, and they’re wonderful. Amazing, but I’ve never had that. I don’t have any plans- I always just thought I’d stay here. For good.” JJ was incredibly embarrassed and looked away, avoiding her gaze.  
“JJ-” She whispered after a while. “Come with me?”

He wasn’t sure he understood, so he looked at her questioningly- raising his eyebrows. “I- I’ve always wanted to travel- to see the world. To new things, go on adventures and volunteer at schools and nature reserves and stuff. But- this doesn’t have to be my thing. It- it can be our thing, come with me?”

She could tell that he looked concerned with the idea and quickly tried to do anything- say anything, to stop him from saying no. “Look- JJ I know that this is how you thought your life would go. But… you don’t have to stay here and just think about the good old days, we could go on adventures together and just… live. Please- say yes. I didn’t even know how much I wanted you to come until I just asked, and I know this is a lot but… I-. JJ it’s not just you that’s going to miss this, okay? Miss us being young and carefree with our best friends- but maybe doing this we’ll miss it a hell of a lot less.

She had no idea how much he wanted to say yes. But… he knew for sure now, she wasn’t in love with him. And he was fine- he was dealing with it. But he needed to get over her. To get over her. For good. And that wouldn’t be possible if he went with her. “Kie- I can’t.” He told her, gritting his teeth and sounding as if he were in pain.

She pulled away from him sharply, angrily, and spat “why not” straight in his face, narrowing her eyes at him.

“I just- I can’t Kie okay? I’m supposed to stay here, in the Outer Banks. It’s who I am- it’s who I’ll always be.” It was a load of bullshit and he knew it.

“You don’t have to be!” She had raised her voice significantly and he was slightly worried Pope was going to wake up. “JJ- come on!”

“No- I can’t Kie, I’m sorry. I’m staying here.” He had raised his voice too by this point.

“Fine. Then don’t come complaining to me about being left here in the Outer Banks.” She spat before getting up from her seat. “I’m going to bed. Night.”

“Kie-”

“Night JJ.” She interrupted him sharply, before walking back to the Château. He wanted to talk to her- to explain. But he knew he’d just end up feeling embarrassed and rejected.

It had been two weeks since their graduation day and Kie had been avoiding him like the plague. Okay, that’s not fair. He’d technically seen her every day, along with his other friends. However, she’d vehemently avoided being in any situation where she would have to be alone with him and never really spoke to him directly. She spoke to the others within the group, and in general but never really said anything to him unless he directly asked her a question. The others hadn’t even noticed, but he had, and it was driving him nuts.

He had started doing every single possible thing he could think of to get her attention, including being even more stupid than he usually was, in hopes of getting her to yell at him. After almost literally dying a few days later to get her attention (with no results) he had had enough. “What the hell is wrong with you Kie?” He spat, storming up to where she was on the beach causing the rest of the others to go silent.

“Can we not do this right now JJ?” Kie pleaded, avoiding his eyes- which made him even madder.

“No- we’re doing this. You’ve been avoiding me-”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous no I haven’t!”

“Yes, you have- don’t you lie to me!”

Neither Kie nor JJ heard John B awkwardly say, “So, we’re going to go…” before the others all walked off back to the Château.

“I’m not lying to you!” Kie told JJ adamantly. “I just- I haven’t known what to say to you!”

“Kie- what the fuck? Look I know I said I didn’t want to travel with you, but why have you been ignoring me? You’re leaving in a month and I’m not even sure when or if I’ll see you again. I mean, do I mean that little to you?” He was blurting out all of his insecurities at this point.

“What? Of course, not- JJ you mean so much to me, you know that!”

“Then why avoid me like I’m the plague?” He yelled frustrated.

“Because!” She yelled right back. “You saying you wouldn’t come with me hurt okay? You literally have no reason to stay here come fall and you still said no. All you’ve ever wanted to do is get out of here and I asked you to do exactly that and you just outright said no- you didn’t even think about it! It felt like the reason you didn’t want to come was because you didn’t want to spend time with me, like you didn’t want to be alone with me and that hurt.”

JJ sighed deeply, what she was saying was utterly ridiculous- it was completely the opposite as to why he’d said no. Regardless he felt bad for making her feel that way. “Look- Kie, okay you’re right that I said no because it would be you that I was going with.” He almost flinched at the hurt that flooded into Kie’s eyes. “But you’re wrong about everything else. I don’t want to go because I like spending time with you too much, I mean…” He wasn’t sure what to say as her confusion became evident. “Oh screw it, I’m in love with you Kie. That’s why I can’t go away with you, because I know if I go, I’ll never be able to get over you.”

“You’re in love with me?” She practically whispered.

“Yeah- of course. I mean, I've always been attracted to you, how could I not you're super-hot but - you - I - Kie you're my best friend. And, like I'm not even sure what love is but I'm pretty sure I'm in it. With you.” JJ had never felt so awkward in his life and he wanted to gouge his eyes out at Kie’s shell shocked expression. “Look, I don’t need the speech okay? I already know it by heart.” JJ began to do an imitation of her voice (that came out more like a squeaky mouse) “JJ you’re my friend but remember the rule- no Pogue-on-Pogue macking. I love you too, but not in that way.” He stopped imitating her then. “See- you don’t need to give me the speech alright? Besides it’s not like you’ve never rejected me before.” He said jokingly.

“What?” Kie was very lost for words and sounded incredibly confused. “When did I reject you? I didn’t reject you!”

JJ rose his eyebrows at her and crossed his arms across his chest. “Umm- yeah you have Kie, twice. You think I have made up memories or some shit?” Kie looked like she was going to interrupt him again, so he quickly spoke on. “First in summer of 10th grade at a kegger- I tried to kiss you and you said no, and then last summer I asked you out and you brought Pope, John B and Sarah.”  
“JJ- you’re such an idiot! Neither of those were rejections!” Kie exclaimed frustratedly.

“How on earth was I wrong?” He asked her in disbelief. “You made it perfectly clear that you didn’t want to kiss me or date me! That sounds like a rejection to me!”

“Okay firstly- at that kegger in 10th grade you’d just gone through puberty and were a massive man-whore. You were hooking up with random Tourons left right and centre before that night and when you came onto me you were drunk as hell, so I stopped you before you went too far and realised, you'd made a mistake.” Kie began. “Secondly, last year when you asked me to go to that new Kook restaurant across town, I thought you wanted us all to go- I didn’t realise it was you asking me on a date!”

“How could you not think that was a date?!” He asked in disbelief, still not believing her.

“JJ- you asked me if I wanted to go with you to make fun of all the Kooks there. How on earth was I supposed to know that you wanted me- and only me- there to make fun of them? I thought you would want the others there.”

“So… you never rejected me?” He asked her in disbelief.

“No JJ.” Kie responded exasperated. “I never rejected you.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah- oh.” Kie said as she rolled her eyes at him, before she sat down on the sand and began to twiddle her fingers. JJ sat down next to her as she began to speak. “I actually had a massive crush on you when you tried to kiss me in the 10th grade- but, I mean you were obviously drunk and horny and I was there- so I get it, but that's all I thought it was. And I waited for you to make a move or something when you were sober, but you didn’t, so I thought you didn’t like me. And I didn't want to ruin our friendship over that so I made up the no Pogue-on-Pogue macking rule so that it wouldn't happen again, because I wasn't sure if next time, I'd be able to stop you.”

JJ was grinning widely at her at this point. “You had a giant crush on me?” He teased her.

“Shut up! Is that all you heard?” She asked him, pushing his shoulder playfully.

“No- I also heard you say that I was so irresistible that you weren't sure if you could stop me a second time. I can’t believe that’s why you made up that rule- I can’t wait to tell Pope and John B.” He couldn’t keep the smirk off his face, and it was pissing her off greatly.

“You’re too much sometimes.” She responded to him grumpily, folding her arms across her chest and practically pouting. In all honesty, she was just too much at times. Just too cute.

“Well, you know what they say- third time’s the charm.” He joked. “So, this is it Kie, I’m making a move for the third time. You gonna reject me? Or am I just too irresistible?” He smirked at her confidently.

“I told you I didn’t reject-” He cut her off by leaning forward and kissing her soundly on her mouth, “you.” She finished after he pulled away.

“I’m looking for a yes or no answer here Kie.” He told her, not being able to keep the smile off his face.

She rolled her eyes at him once again. “No- I’m not rejecting you, okay?”  
“So, I am just too irresistible then?” He joked teasingly.

“You're an idiot JJ Maybank.” She replied, a smile creeping onto her face.

“Maybe- but I'm your idiot.” He said softly, pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear.

“That was super cheesy. And lame.” She was the one smirking now.

“Oh my god” he groaned, “I was going for romantic here Kie!”

“Just stop talking JJ.” She told him before pulling his face to hers and kissing him once more.

After that they made out for several minutes on the beach. He groaned loudly as she began to pull away, and so he rolled on top of her so that she was unable to move, and he began to kiss her neck (whilst blowing the occasional raspberry) causing her to giggle incessantly.

“JJ, stop!” She giggled. “Stop! I need to talk to you.” She was making her best efforts to push him away and he was refusing to move.

“Nuh uh.” He said in between kisses. “I've had enough of talking- we've been friends for six years; we're making out now baby.”

“JJ, we have all the time in the world to make out! So, could you just stop for two minutes?”

Groaning, he pulled away- still refusing to move from on top of her in case she tried to move away. “Fine, you have two minutes.”

“You said before you couldn't go travelling with me because I'm not in love with you- right?” JJ gulped and nodded. “Well” She continued, “now that you know that that's not true, will you join me then?”

JJ shifted so that he was now looking directly looking at her in the eyes. He obviously knew that she liked him, but whether she… “Are you saying?” He asked her shyly (and out of character).

“Yeah- I am. I do. Love you I mean.” She stuttered slightly and he couldn’t help the wide grin forming on his face.

“God damnit.” He murmured under his breath before he attacked her lips once more. “I - will - do - anything - and - go - anywhere - for - you - Kiara - Carrera.” He said in between kisses. “I don't care where we go or how long we're gone for, but I'll travel with you to the ends of the earth.”

“You mean it?” She asked before quickly continuing. “Because that's literally what will be happening.”

“I mean it.” He said, causing her to grin into the kiss before she pushed him off of her and stood up quickly. He groaned at the lack of contact and practically buried his head into the sand. “Why’d you pull away Kie?” He whined at her.

“Because.” She said, trying to yank him up. “I think we should move this party up to the Château. Don’t want to be cruel to the poor strangers and make them want to burn their eyes out. I’d rather get some payback on Sarah and John B.”

He peeped up at her from his position on the ground. Was she implying…? “Are you saying…” She nodded her head at him and tugged on his hand. He hastily got up and kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her waist. “You sure?” He asked her, to which she nodded surely. “Baby, I knew I loved you for a reason.” He practically yelled before sweeping her off her feet and practically ran back to the Château with her in his arms as she squealed, and he laughed loudly.

Their friends didn’t see either of them for almost a week after that, because well- you know why.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to my bestie Charley for reading this and making sure it wasn't a complete load of garbage lol.
> 
> I hope you liked it, I know there wasn't any Jiara in this chapter but it will come! I'll post the next chapter soon, don't worry. 
> 
> I'd love to hear from you so please leave a comment!


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